Dr. John F. MacArthur is the Pastor of the Grace Community
Church in Panorama City, California. According to a statement made on the
cover of one of his books, “his Bible teaching and tape ministries reach
millions across the globe.”

He is the author of many books (most of which
are published by Moody Press) including several full length commentaries
on certain New Testament books.

His local church is large, but his
influence goes far beyond his local church because of his published
writings and public tapes which are distributed widely. According to the
flyleaf of his book, The Gospel According to Jesus, “He is heard daily on
the national radio program “Grace to You,” and more than 7,000,000 of his
audio cassette tapes have been distributed worldwide.” He is also the
President of The Master’s College and Seminary. He is a member of the IFCA
(Independent Fundamental Churches of America).

Dr. MacArthur is
nationally known for his position in support of Lordship Salvation. Our desire is only to "prove all things", by testing all
things by the Word of God, to see if they are true (1st Thessalonians 5:21; Acts
17:11). Dr. MacArthur's teachings have a worldwide impact, and his
doctrines should not be embraced without subjecting them to the
searchlight of the
Scriptures.

Dr. MacArthur’s position on Lordship Salvation has been made
very clear in his published book, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS. He has
also made statements in some of his other published writings and tapes that
relate to this subject, some of which are quoted below:

"The Greek word translated 'belief' is not referring merely to
intellectual attainment or mental acquiescence but a wholehearted acceptance of
everything that is implied in the claims of Christ. You need to believe that
Jesus is God and that He died for your sins, committing your whole life to
Him in sacrifice and serving Him as Lord." (Assurance of Victory--1 John
5, Moody Press, p.12).

"Submission to the will of God, to Christ’s lordship, and to
the guiding of the Spirit is an essential, not an optional, part of saving
faith" (EPHESIANS, p. 249).

"Saving faith is a placing of oneself totally in submission to
the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1-8, p. 205).

REPENTANCE

Dr. MacArthur confuses repentance with the fruits of
repentance, and confuses faith with that which faith ought to produce. He
confuses saving faith (which takes place in a moment of time—Genesis 15:6; Ephesians 1:13) with discipleship (which is a lifelong process). As Miles Stanford has
said, "Lordship salvation is not the childlike faith of John 3:16. It rightly
insists upon repentance but wrongly includes a change of behavior IN ORDER TO BE
SAVED.

No one questions that there must be a sincere change of mind, a turning
from oneself to the Saviour, but Lordship advocates attempt to make behavior and
fruit essential ingredients of, rather than evidence of, saving faith" (Miles
Stanford, in his review of The Gospel According to Jesus).

MacArthur defines REPENTANCE as turning from your
sins (Faith Works, pg. 74). He also teaches that true repentance
"inevitably results in a change of behavior" (Faith Works, pg. 75).
But is not TURNING FROM SINS a CHANGE OF BEHAVIOR? Is MacArthur confusing the
RESULTS of repentance with REPENTANCE itself? Is not he confusing the FRUITS
with the ROOT? MacArthur is more accurate when he says, "true repentance
involves a change of heart and purpose" (Faith Works, pg. 75). The inner
change will produce an outward change.
REPENT! REPENT! REPENT!

It's Not What A
Sinner Must Do to Be Saved, But What Christ Has Done for Us!

The simplicity of the gospel has been perverted in many churches
today. Instead of RESTING in the finished work of Christ for salvation (Romans
10:3-4); churchgoers are being taught by John MacArthur, Kirk Cameron, Ray
Comfort and Paul Washer that they must stop sinning to be saved. That is not
Biblical! Jesus paid for our sins!

What is the Gospel message according to MacArthur? According to
him, what must a person do to be saved? Does his answer match Acts 16:31 or does
he teach something else? Here is what he says:

"Let me just say simply, that
when you present the gospel, all of this Lordship discussion aside, a
presentation of the gospel is simply this: you are calling on someone to TURN
FROM THEIR SIN and FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST. That’s it! Turn from your sin and
follow Jesus Christ!....That is all we are asking: TURN FROM YOUR SIN AND FOLLOW
JESUS CHRIST....What you talk to an adult about is the same thing you tell a
child: you need to turn from your sin and follow Jesus Christ" (this is
transcribed from a taped question and answer session given on 9/25/90 at the
Calvary Baptist Church in Brewer, Maine, Rev. Larry Pawson, Pastor).

Notice that MacArthur’s emphasis is upon WHAT MAN DOES (turning
from sin, following Christ) rather than upon WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE. His emphasis
is upon MAN’S COMMITMENT, rather than upon the Person and work of Christ and the
response of faith to that Person and to His work. His emphasis is upon DO, but a
true gospel message should emphasize DONE (John 19:30). It is not our COMMITMENT
that saves us; it is CHRIST who saves us. Following Christ is a result of
salvation, not a condition of salvation.

Before we FOLLOW CHRIST in discipleship we must COME TO CHRIST for
salvation. Before we COME AFTER CHRIST (Luke 9:23) we must COME UNTO CHRIST
(Matthew 11:28). The term "BELIEVE" does not mean “turn from sin and follow
Christ.” It means “trust fully, rely upon, resting one’s whole weight upon the
WORTH, WORD and WORK of Jesus Christ.” We must not re-define saving faith to
make it some kind of a “work-requirement” for salvation. Justification is for
the person who “worketh not, but believeth”
(Romans 4:5).

MacArthur Corrupts the True Meaning
of Matthew 19:16-22

Matthew 19:16-22, “And, behold, one came
and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may
have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there
is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt
do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him,
All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus
said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and
follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”

In this passage, we read about a rich young man
who asked Jesus how to have eternal life? When the young man bragged about
keeping all of God's Law (which shows that he was self-righteousness), Jesus
pointed out that he was covetous (which is a violation of the 10th
Commandment in Exodus 20:17). Jesus used the Law the way it was intended to
be used, i.e., to show us our sinfulness and need for a Savior. Romans
3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them
who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God.” Jesus simply pointed out to that young
man that he was not righteous in God's eyes.

John MacArthur, Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort
all pervert this passage to mean that Jesus was giving a plan of salvation.
Jesus WASN'T giving that young man a plan of salvation; but rather, was
simply showing him that his self-righteousness was flawed and unacceptable
to God. The Apostle Paul
taught the same
truth in Romans 2:13, because the Jews thought they could be saved by
keeping the Law. No one can be saved by keeping the Law (Romans 3:20). We need Christ's
righteousness, which MacArthur doesn't teach (Matthew 6:33; Romans 4:5-6;
Romans 10:3-4; 2nd Corinthians
5:21).

The rich young man in the Bible was covetous.
According to MacArthur, that young man would have been saved if he'd denied
himself, let go of his pride, pushed aside his selfish ambitions, given up
his covetousness and given his life to Christ. John MacArthur is teaching
lies of the Devil.

At 4:31 in the preceding video, Dr. MacArthur states
concerning the young rich man:

“He is a classic
illustration of someone who will not deny himself. He wanted to hold
onto his own will. He wanted to hold onto his own pride. He wanted to
hold onto his own money. He wanted to hold onto his own ambition, his
own sovereignty if you will, in his own life. The competing issues are these,
very simple...

The Gospel says,
'give your life to Christ and He rules' and if you're not willing to do
that it's because you want to keep the rule of your own life. The rich
young man wanted his own life for himself. He wanted to control his own
life. He had his choice: sins, he had his choice, religion, and he
wanted to hang onto control. It's that simple. Coming to Christ means
you give up the control of your life, and you yield it to Christ. That's
what kept him from salvation, he was unwilling to do that.”

Ladies and gentlemen,
that is
Catholic theology and damnable
heresy!!! MacArthur said: “Coming to Christ means you give up the control
of your life, and you yield it to Christ. That's what kept him from
salvation, he was unwilling to do that.” The reason why the rich young
man didn't get saved was NOT because he refused to yield to Christ, nor
because he was unwilling to give up control of his life; the reason why he
didn't get saved is because he was self-righteousness.

Notice what the self-righteous young man asked
Jesus in Matthew 19:16...

“...Good Master, what good thing SHALL I DO, that I may have eternal life?”

The young
man didn't ask how he could get to Heaven. No, rather, he asked what
THINGI NEED TO DO. Jesus
knew the young man's heart. The young
man was self-righteousness. Jesus used the Law to show the young man his
wickedness. There was nothing he could do in his own self-righteousness to
have eternal life. He needed Jesus as his Savior. Romans 3:19 and Galatians
3:24 plainly teach that the Law's purpose is only to show us our guilt of
sin and need for a Savior.

John MacArthur requires people to fulfil the Law as
a prerequisite to faith in Christ, which is the heresy of works salvation.
That is exactly what Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort and John MacArthur are
teaching...

They all teach that the
rich young man should have forsaken his covetousness to be saved.

In sharp contrast, Romans 4:5-6
proclaims, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as
David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works.”

Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort are going to be
damned because they are following the false gospel of John MacArthur. The
Bible plainly teaches that false prophets would go through pains to avoid
being detected.
Satan is subtle. 2nd Peter 2:1, “But there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who
PRIVILYshall bring in damnable heresies...”The word
“privily” here means “taking pains to avoid being observed; to lead aside.”
This is the nature of false prophets. They are used by Satan to mislead
people, going through pains to avoid being detected.

Carefully notice that the false prophets in
Matthew 7:21-23 were SINCERE; but they were sincerely WRONG. Proverb
16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof
are the ways of death.”

Lordship Salvationists all pervert the Gospel message, requiring sinners to stop living in
their sins to be saved. Moody Bible Institute and many other
theological schools have been caught up into MacArthur's doctrines of
devils...

1st Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit
speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;1Tm:4:1:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and DOCTRINES
OF DEVILS.”

Lordship Salvation is
a backdoor approach to Works Salvation. Instead of requiring people to do
good works to be saved as the Catholic Church does, Lordship Salvationists
require people to stop living in sin to be saved. The result is the
same—self righteousness. The perverted doctrine of Lordship Salvation is the
primary ecumenical bridge now being used to merge Catholics with apostate
Evangelicals.

To understand the issue of Lordship Salvation, realize that THEY ARE ALL
CALVINISTS!!! John Calvin (1509-1564) taught a heresy called thePERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS,
which taught that if a person is truly saved they will continue in holy living,
surrendering their life to Christ, and departing from sin and the world; thus,
this becomes a REQUIREMENT to be saved in Calvinism. This is EXACTLY what
Lordship Salvation teaches today (it is Calvinism). It is a false gospel.

Romans 11:6, “And if by
grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if
it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Salvation is either free-grace or works-based. There is no hybrid
gospel that incorporates BOTH grace and works. Roman Catholics combine grace and
works and pervert the gospel, leading souls into hellfire. If you add anything
to simple childlike faith in Christ, then you have corrupted the simplicity that
is in Jesus Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4).

MacArthur has written the following statement which is
confusing at best and heretical at worst:

"Salvation isn't the result of an
intellectual exercise. It comes from a life lived in obedience and service to
Christ as revealed in the Scripture; it's the fruit of actions, not
intentions. There's no room for passive spectators: words without
actions are empty and futile...The life we live, not the words we speak,
determines our eternal destiny" (Hard to Believe, p. 93).
[emphasis added]

It's not hard to believe! To teach that salvation comes from a life lived in obedience and
service to Christ sinfully boasts that salvation comes from something that
man does (Ephesians 2:8-9). Whereas Roman Catholics say to DO GOOD WORKS
to be saved; Calvinists and Lordship Salvationists say to NOT DO BAD WORKS
to be saved. BOTH are false gospels centering around WORKS for salvation, but
Romans 4:5 tell us that salvation is to him that WORKETH NOT. The
Bible says that salvation is “not of yourselves... not of works, lest any man
should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Plain and simple, John MacArthur is an openly admitted
5-point Calvinist, following the
heretical teachings of John Calvin (1509-1564). In particular, it is the false
doctrine of the PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTSupon which the Lordship
Salvation heresy is based. Heretics like Paul Washer, Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort
and John MacArthur teach that if you don't stop living in sin, then you never
got saved (in effect, they are adding the FRUIT of the Christian faith with the
ROOT of our faith, which is a false gospel). The way a person lives has nothing
to do with whether or not they believe on the Son of God. Eternal life is a free
gift with no strings attached!

The only way to genuinely know if a person is saved or not is by
the direct testimony of their mouth. The Bible is filled with Christian
believers who deliberately sinned horribly; such as men like king David stole
Bathsheba in adultery and then murdered her husband to hide her pregnancy. Jonah
ran from God Samson went with prostitutes. Rahab was a harlot. Isaiah was a man
of unclean lips. Abraham and Sarah doubted God, and Sarah laughed in God's face.
Peter denied and cursed in Jesus' name. Demas forsook serving God, having loved
this present world. Calvinists are self-righteous hypocrites. God only saves
sinners, the ungodly (Romans 4:5). Dr. John R.
Rice (1895-1980) explains the difference between salvation verses consecration
in this excellent article.

MacArthur's formula for salvation seems
to be as follows:

Man's obedience + man's service to Christ = SALVATION

Does not this formula indicate salvation by works? The Bible consistently teaches that salvation is not based on man's works, but
on the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

MacArthur states in HARD TO BELIEVE (pg. 93): “The
life we live...determines our eternal destiny.” The implications of this statement are
startling. If MacArthur's statement is true, then hell is going to be the
eternal destiny of every human being! According to Romans 6:23 we
have all earned for ourselves eternal death. The life we live does
not determine our eternal destiny.

John MacArthur writes, clearly evidencing his Calvinism:

“The
point is not that God guarantees security to everyone who will say he
accepts Christ, but rather that those whose faith is genuine will prove
their salvation is secure by persevering to the end in the way of
righteousness” (The Gospel According to Jesus
[Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988], p.98).

MacArthur's perverted gospel requires a person to make a continual
effort to live above sin as part of salvation. If you claim to trust in Christ,
but don't live holy and surrender your life to Christ, then MacArthur says
you're not saved. That is a hellish false gospel that Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron
and Paul Washer all ascribe to.

MacArthur is an unsaved Modernist at work corrupting the
church. The Bible makes it clear that it is our relationship to the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, or our lack of such a relationship, that
determines our eternal destiny. In Matthew 7:23 Jesus says to a group of those
professing salvation, “I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work
iniquity.” They never had a saving relationship to Jesus Christ
(John 17:3). God does not grant the sinner salvation based on the kind of
life he lives, otherwise none of us would make it. Living the right kind
of life is the fruit of salvation, but never the cause. MacArthur's
wording seems to make it the cause or the condition of salvation, a teaching
that would be totally contrary to the gospel of grace.

William Newell summarizes the essence of God's gracious
salvation as follows:

Christ's work, though on behalf of
man, was whollyHis: glorious and perfect, yet to be received by
man in its blessed results of eternal pardon, peace and blessing. To be
received, we say, by simple Faith, unmixed with human effort. A
humbling process, indeed! For man must go out of the
righteousness-producing business, and rest wholly and forever on the work of
Another, even Christ. (Hebrews, pages
238-239).

John MacArthur’s views on child salvation are of interest
because they seem to relate to his understanding of Lordship salvation. On
September 25, 1990 at the Calvary Baptist Church in Brewer, Maine (Pastor Larry Pawson), Dr. MacArthur was involved in a question and answer session
which was publicly taped. During that session he said the following about child
salvation:

"Now let me say this and I don’t want you
to panic when I say it. Saving faith is an ADULT ISSUE. Saving faith is an
ADULT EXPERIENCE.Salvation is an ADULT EXPERIENCE. Am I saying that a child cannot be
saved? I’m saying that salvation is a conscious turning from sin to follow Jesus
Christ with an understanding of something of the sinfulness of sin, its
consequences and something of who Jesus Christ is, what He has provided and that
I’m committing my life to Him. At what point can a child understand that?... I
tell parents that salvation is an adult decision... There is no
illustration in Scripture of childhood salvation. There is none. People want to
throw the Philippian jailer and his household; well that’s talking about his
servants so there is no reference there about his children. So there is no such
thing as a childhood conversion."

In fairness, MacArthur is not saying that a child cannot be
saved. But he does seem to be saying that if a child is to be saved he must
understand as an adult, make an adult decision and have an adult experience. [The
Lord Jesus taught that to be saved adults must become as little children (Matthew
18:3); MacArthur teaches that to be saved children must become as adults]
How does this relate to His teaching on Lordship?

If salvation is by simple
child-like faith in the Saviour, then child salvation is no problem. On the
other hand, if salvation involves obedience to Christ’s commands, surrendering
to Christ’s Lordship, fulfilling the demands of discipleship, commitment of
one’s life to the Saviour, etc., then salvation has become a very involved and
complicated thing that would not at all be simple for a child to do.

If we
complicate the gospel with all kinds of Lordship requirements, then we have
indeed made it very, very difficult for children (and for adults)! If we
proclaim the gospel message that salvation is simply BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
(based upon the Person and work of Christ, not based upon sinful man’s fragile
commitment), then this is a message that can be gladly received by people of all
ages.

There is a fine line between the turning from sin that genuine
repentance brings; verses the turning from sin that false prophets require for
people to get saved.